OFM Health: Bringing Queer Food to the Front of the Table
For so long, the ideal of living as a gay person meant matching the ideals of my heterosexual counterparts: living freely in the same environment, being able to have the same things (marriage, kids), and having spaces where everyone was welcome regardless of sexual orientation. The more I learned about LGBTQ history, the inherent culture undeniably “queer,” and the continued political polarization impacting our community, the more I realized that my new ideal of living as a queer person is in celebrating and protecting inherently queer spaces that acknowledge the struggles and culture of our community while promoting a future in which we rejoice in our differences as a community.
For myself and many others, identifying as queer means more than just within the confines of sexual orientation—It is political; it is radically expressive; it is outside of the status quo. And yet, we never look at food as something that could be considered queer.
Food is representative of culture so of course it can be queer—not so much in what is literally eaten or the folks who are present at the table but in the make of the entire experience surrounding the diner. Like so much of queer culture, queer food is everywhere and yet under recognized. Think less about rainbow-colored foods and more about the radical expression of art through food that puts a head-tilting spin on the expectations of what is possible culinarily. It’s the nod of fellow queer person serving you at the table.
Perhaps the vibe is a wink to queer culture, despite heterosexual patrons dining in blissful ignorance. Maybe the music celebrates queer icons as a backdrop to the presentation of spicy fusion foods on a colorful platter hand-crafted by a local queer artist. Queer food is more than just one identifiable factor; it’s the culmination of many things that are joyful and magical and perhaps even a little (or a lot) radically political.
Take the queer, vegan, and melanated (QVM) food movement based out of Washington, D.C. QVM exists to create a space for Black and Brown individuals to discuss their food journey and self-acceptance. It’s a community that dines together; discusses shared issues and experiences; volunteers; and fosters conversation about wellness of the mind, body, and soul. Events are held nationwide with the intent to celebrate the journeys of melanated folks through communal dining and togetherness.
Lil Deb’s Oasis in New York is a queer owned-and-operated restaurant serving up their version of “tropical comfort food” on colorful plates in a delightfully queer space meant to attract folks within the LGBTQ community. On top of the vibe, Lil Deb’s regularly hosts the Queer Night of Performance, which brings queer artists of all kinds to showcase their music, comedy, spoken word, and dance. The owners of this space celebrate racial inclusivity, equal pay, and grassroots sustainability in their restaurant structure as well as through collaborative relationships. As a space self-proclaimed to be one of “glamour and gastronomy,” how can this be anything but queer?
The queerness of food is in no one action. The freedom to be queer is still very much under development in our culture, and so the concept of queer food can be difficult to recognize. The queerness of food can be found in characteristically political spaces which combat racial exclusivity and promote ideals such as fair trade and equal pay. It’s the welcoming of drag queen dance-offs, bisexual brunch gatherings, and spaces that draw from throughout the gender spectrum.
The food, of course, doesn’t take a back seat—It is the expression of the art of queer folks that builds a foundation for the space to prosper at all. It is the creativity of the food that is served—a creative expression of flavors in a style that is inherently queer. The universal language of food speaks to all, so surely it can speak to our community. The need for these spaces extends far beyond simply having a space where we are welcome, but in the celebration of what makes us different and uniquely us. The question to ask ourselves is, “Where does queer food exist in our lives?”
